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I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

antoine.fi

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Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#81

Post by ieie3366 »

js2 wrote: post #54
ricardobayes wrote: post #7

That might be doctors new nightmare: people who second guess everything with AI. Previously it was "google your symptoms".

The NYT did this profile a while back: "Ben Riley was already writing about the risks of chatbots when his dad started trusting A.I. over his doctor." The dad was a retired neuroscientist who delayed cancer treatment against medical advice because he was certain he had been misdiagnosed based on his own research that he did with the help of A.I. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/well/ai-chatbots-cancer.h... There's…

GPT-4o, which is what that article is most likely about, was an older low param count slop model which was known for abusing emojis and sycophancy. It does not really have any relevance to latest claude frontier models.

Your comment is akin to saying "Karen from facebook who is a human pushed essential oils and ivermectin as a cure to cancer. Now doctor Y is suggesting chemo. Both are humans, humans cannot be trusted!"

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#82

Post by bilsbie »

EA-3167 wrote: post #72
whatever1 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if you want to do a surgery but you don’t see any surgeons around you ask a grocery butcher to have his way?

People, especially in medical crises, are desperate for answers that they often can't get because their clinicians don't know. The illusion of an all-knowing guru who sounds like their doctor and tells them ANYTHING is extremely alluring. If you're waiting to hear back from a doctor about test results (which these days probably showed up on your online account the moment they were completed) can be agonizing. Ok for…

> but how about

Whatever scenario you come up with my answer is the same.

As an adult I’d like to be able to choose what tools I use to learn about my condition regardless of how well it works or even if it’s likely to mislead me.

There’s risk in every aspect of life and we can’t baby proof everything.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#83

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

dazhbog wrote: post #66

You should always be getting a second or third opinion from real doctors for matters like surgeries, radiology, etc. One doctor diagnosis + LLM is gonna throw you off. You need more datapoints.

In the US, this is standard advice. I note that the OP is in Germany. Maybe they do things differently, there.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#84

Post by KaiserPro »

lucfranken wrote: post #74

Why wouldn’t you as a doctor by standard run the images through a certified compliant LLM? The actual cost won’t be it and then you can see if you get any new ideas from it. See if it’s just wrong or that it spotted a little detail you missed? The LLM doesn’t need to be leading or whatever but then you can have a conversation with the patient. If their ChatGPT reports has differences it can be analyzed as well. It fe…

> standard run the images through a certified compliant LLM?

Because they don't exist, yet.

In the UK MRIs and other imaging systems need two opinions. there has been a move to allow the first opinion to be ML based.

The _problem_ is that you are basically doing grey smudge analysis, and thats fucking hard.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#85

Post by cube00 »

hennell wrote: post #53

Personally my favourite feature of the new ai world is not when I use it directly but it's when one of my managers uses it to try to fix a problem, then issue to me their findings and I have to defend my process to someone who understands neither my process, their suggested solution nor often the problem they're solving in the first place.

It gets worse when they challenge your solutions by feeding it back into the LLM and sending the response on to you, arguing with an LLM is exhausting, arguing by proxy with a human parroting its responses is excruciating.

On the plus side when they do this they can't flood your calendar with those "quick chat" meetings because they know they won't be able to hold a conversation on the issue beyond the first minute.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#86

Post by nitwit005 »

willsmith72 wrote: post #64
hennell wrote: post #53

Personally my favourite feature of the new ai world is not when I use it directly but it's when one of my managers uses it to try to fix a problem, then issue to me their findings and I have to defend my process to someone who understands neither my process, their suggested solution nor often the problem they're solving in the first place.

True, but this was a problem long before AI (read this article, met this guy at a conference who told me x, my boss said blah) AI probably exacerbates it but crappy managers exist regardless

Before maybe you had to deal with someone hiring schetchy consultants once in a while, but now the managers have a limitless well of dubious answers to draw on at any time.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#87

Post by jstummbillig »

rafterydj wrote: post #15

I feel like I'm going nuts. There are other commenters saying this is a good practice they've also done for other injuries. You are saying you are an actual radiologist and immediately clock the problems with its advice. I have seen this pattern over and over again. Anytime someone is an actual expert at anything, AI output appears insufficient or incomplete or outright misleading. It is only when you do not know wha…

No, not anytime someone is an actual expert at anything, AI output appears insufficient. That is why experts in various fields use AI.

Then to say "Aha, but all of that is AI psychosis" makes obviously no sense: Why would we trust experts when they offer critique but not when they say "this is helpful"?

Overall: People are not insane. AI makes mistakes and, often, fails completely. AI also helps them do things better, quicker, increasingly so. The jaggedness of AI is confusing and real.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#88

Post by silisili »

rafterydj wrote: post #15

I feel like I'm going nuts. There are other commenters saying this is a good practice they've also done for other injuries. You are saying you are an actual radiologist and immediately clock the problems with its advice. I have seen this pattern over and over again. Anytime someone is an actual expert at anything, AI output appears insufficient or incomplete or outright misleading. It is only when you do not know wha…

This is natural and even logically expected. It's just Gell-Mann amnesia in action. The world has more people spouting on things than it has people knowledgeable in said things.

Apply that to the Internet at large, and realize where LLMs got their training. They're basically ConfidentlyIncorrect personified.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#89

Post by LogicFailsMe »

I did the same exercise here with medical reports and CT scans for a friend's cancer diagnosis and I got ahead of the oncologists predicting they were about to be cured. Spoilers: yep, cancer free now.

And well, yes, I have the appropriate life science degrees to navigate clinical trial reports and research publications, and that was likely indispensable for steering Claude Code where it went, the radiologist's caution is merited here. But it's just not amateur hour for me to do this, it's 2 decades of academic research in my rearview mirror.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#90

Post by bilsbie »

ricardobayes wrote: post #7

That might be doctors new nightmare: people who second guess everything with AI. Previously it was "google your symptoms".

It’s funny every profession deals with customers making their own guesses at diagnosis.

I told my mechanic the film flam is broken but he said it was the rim ram. He fixed it and we all went in with our lives.

But doctors insist on this God like status so it’s a “nightmare” when patients try to help themselves.

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